At dusk.

Su Zheng's brigade has already come to Jingyang dozens of miles away.

At this moment, the army passed through a village.

Su Zai lifted the curtain and ordered: "Wang Ben, the army will be stationed here, and the people must not be disturbed." ”

Subsequently.

Su Zai and Lu Caiwei got out of the carriage together.

When he came to the hill in front of the village, his eyes were suspicious.

At this time, it is the height of summer, and the fields should be prosperous, but there is rarely green at this time.

Su Zai said: "You don't have to come with you. ”

Then he took Lu Caiwei and walked slowly towards the village from the path.

Lu Caiwei looked around, and occasionally found scattered green leaves and green grass in the trees and secluded corners, but at a glance, she knew that the only remaining green was also newly sprouted.

And on both sides of the road, Su Zheng and Lu Caiwei couldn't help frowning.

Lu Caiwei said: "This is Jingyang? ”

Su Zai's eyebrows tightened and he nodded.

The bones of horses, sheep and other livestock can be found everywhere on both sides of the road!

As soon as the two of them entered the village, they thought that at this hour, there should be many people in the village, but when they looked at it this way, the village was empty and unusually cold.

As far as the two could see, there were only some old people, young children, women and children, and none of the sturdy men were nowhere to be seen.

Su Zai and Lu Caiwei are dressed in gorgeous clothes, and their temperament is graceful and luxurious.

Immediately attracted the attention of some people.

It made many people seem restrained.

Soon, Su Zai stopped an old man who was coming towards him and arched his hand: "The elder is polite." ”

The old man looked to be in his sixties, with a wrinkled face, a thick layer of calluses on his hands, and firewood on his back.

Seeing Su Zai and Lu Caiwei, he immediately put the firewood on the ground.

replied: "I have seen this nobleman, I wonder what is the matter with the nobleman?" ”

Su Zai smiled: "Old man, what are the people in the village doing?" ”

The old man looked at the village, shook his head and said: "Go out to beg, some of them have escaped, we are old and can't walk, otherwise we will go into exile together, stay here, there is only one way to die." ”

Su Zheng was shocked, homeless!

In the event of a drought, displaced people are prone to become bandits.

Lu Caiwei said: "Old man, why do you say that there is a dead end, even if there is a fierce flood, the Qin State will allocate food for disaster relief." ”

The old man looked at Lu Caiwei and said, "Disaster relief food? Hey, it's good if the county doesn't come to us to ask for land rent and taxes, how can they give us food to eat. ”

Lu Caiwei asked, "But this county order is harsh on you?" Not acting according to the law? ”

Then, the old man slowly told him some things he knew.

Originally, in ordinary seasons, grain taxes were also collected according to the capitation.

But now it is a famine, and it will inevitably be impossible to pay on time.

According to the legal system, the prefectural decree was supposed to report the disaster situation, so that the court or the prince could order some relief, but the prefectural decree was slow to report the progress of the drought.

This means that every family has to pay food according to the previous legal system.

For example, this old man's family, originally a family of three, and his two sons fled the famine, leaving him alone at home, and the county ordered to pay the grain, or to collect it according to three people.

This is not wrong, the fault is wrong, why the county order did not report the disaster, or delayed the reporting of the disaster.

The old man said: "My two sons left me some food when they left, and they said that if I came back from the famine, I would not starve to death, so they would come back to feed me, but I don't know if I can wait until that day." ”

The locust plague has not yet fully erupted.

Many of the old locusts laid eggs in the fields have not yet hatched.

But as an old farmer who has been farming all his life, he can know in advance that this year's harvest has become a big problem.

Lu Caiwei comforted: "Don't worry, old man, your son will definitely come back." ”

The old man was stunned, looked at Lu Caiwei, and said with a smile: "I don't support people these days, I just hope that my son will go as far as possible, otherwise there will be no food at all." ”

Just as the three of them were talking.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the village!

More than two dozen officials entered the village, and the leader was surrounded by the rest.

The leader was quite young, but with a look of arrogance, and after a few steps, he saw a lamb led by a rope.

As soon as he looked at him, the other person immediately realized and immediately ran over to remove the lamb.

"What are you doing! Isn't it time to pay your taxes? ”

The servant kicked the woman down.

"This is your family's spring rent, and the tax collector only needs you a sheep, so you will be grateful."

"You give it back to me, you took the sheep, what do our family eat." The woman pleaded.

The little official sneered and said, "Hmph, your family's? This whole Jingyang belongs to Wuhou, I will find you to collect the rent according to the law, you have no grain, use this sheep to offset, thinking that my family tax envoy is gracious. ”

Su Zheng looked at this scene coldly.

Lu Caiwei gradually felt Su Zheng's coldness.

The old man shook his head and said, "His husband died in battle many years ago, after all these years, who still remembers his husband's contribution to the Qin State, otherwise, these tyrants would not dare to do this." ”

Su Zheng asked, "This person is acting so domineering, what does he have to rely on?" ”

The old man said: "This is the nephew of the county order, and he is also the tax envoy of Jingyang!" ”

The woman was kicked to the ground, and a child of five or six years old ran out of the house, helped the woman and shouted, "Mother, mother! ”

Soon, the tax collector kicked the door open door from house to house.

and a pair of bamboo slips in his hand, and when he saw anything valuable at home, he took it away.

The whole village dared to be angry.

Soon, the tax envoy passed by Su Zai, Lu Caiwei and the old man.

The whole person shook, and suddenly his eyes fell on Lu Caiwei.

However, when he saw that the two of them were dressed extraordinarily, he became vigilant and said, "Why are you two staying here, do you have a road test?" ”

After speaking, his eyes looked at Lu Caiwei from time to time.

Generally, road guides are needed to visit each other, and there are road checks and registrations when walking around the Qin State, which is used to prove one's identity.

Nowadays, it is very common for many merchants to wander around the villages.

If it was a businessman, he could take the opportunity to leave them for interrogation, and he had already made up his mind that he had only seen such a stunning woman in decades!

When the villagers saw that the tax collector had come to the two outsiders, their palms were sweaty.

The children were hiding in the corners and peeping around.

Su Zai said coldly: "My husband and wife are businessmen, since you are a tax envoy, you should go to collect taxes and interrogate me and my wife, why is this?" ”

The tax envoy said: "My uncle is the commander of Jingyang County, so I naturally have the right to ask, if you two don't have a road test, how can I know if you are a fine work from another country." ”

Su Zheng's identity naturally won't say much to this tax envoy.

Su Zheng asked: "According to the legal system of my Qin State, in the year of the flood, the tax will be reduced or exempted according to the situation, the disaster situation in several counties in Guanzhong has reached such a point, why is it rarely heard of in Xianyang City, and besides, as a tax envoy of the Qin State, you act aggressively and try to resentment the people, do you know your crimes?" ”

When the old man heard this, he immediately said loudly: "Nobleman, don't talk nonsense." ”

Su Zai waved his hand.

The tax envoy shouted: "Bold, you dare to say this, do you know that you have committed a serious crime by saying this, and you still need you to teach this official to act according to the law?" From the point of view of the envoy, you are the meticulous work of another country, and someone will arrest these two people for the envoy. ”

The village was suddenly boiling.

Some of the men who had returned from outside also saw the scene.

Su Zai laughed angrily and said, "You want to arrest me? Who gives you the right! ”

The tax envoy couldn't help but be forced back two steps by Su Zheng's momentum, and said: "This is Wuhou's fiefdom, this official is Wuhou's tax envoy, if you dare to disobey, you will be against Wuhou!" ”

Su Zai laughed, with his identity, he naturally wouldn't argue with this person more.

Instead, he pointed to the outside of the village and said, "Do you see the bones of the cattle on the side of the road?" Now, in order to survive, the people of this village have killed these animals, eaten meat and blood, and filled their bellies, while their bones have to be abandoned in the wild. ”

"The lamb you are holding in your hand is the only thing that lives in that woman's family, and his husband died on the battlefield for the Qin State, is it just to exchange for you to be a prestige here after you have eaten and drunk? Bullying his widow? You are guilty! ”

The people came out one after another.

One by one, their faces were excited, but the tax envoys had accumulated power for a long time, and they did not dare to speak out.

"Noble, let's go, this person is the nephew of the county order!"

Kicked to the point where the woman sobbed faintly.

The people stepped forward to help him up.

Su Zheng continued: "Wuhou? You are so majestic, if the people under the rule of Wuhou are like what I see now, the cold have no clothes, the old have no food, the old have nothing to support, and the young have nothing to rely on, such a Wuhou, I feel that I can kill myself. ”

"What?"

Su Zheng's words made the people stupid.

Who is Wuhou, the magnate of Great Qin, how can such a big disrespectful remark be said in public.

An old woman said: "Young man, I can't say this, I want to kill my head, Wuhou is fighting for the people of Qin, I don't know the disaster I am waiting for, you go quickly, if you don't leave, it's too late." ”

The tax envoy took a step back and said loudly, "Still want to go?" You dare to speak disrespectfully to Wuhou, arrest him, no one can save you. ”

For a while, the villagers retreated.

Dare to be angry but dare not speak.

If anyone dares to resist, they are standing on the opposite side of Wuhou.

Not to mention the people, even no one dares to do so.

Lu Caiwei's palm moved, and the cyan long whip lightning out, tying the tax collector's neck.

For a time, the tax envoy was terrified, and the rest of the people were even more terrified.

Lu Caiwei shouted: "Where do you put the life and death of the people? Where did such an act put Wuhou? ”

The tax collector was too frightened to move, his neck was tied more and more tightly, desperately trying to pull away, but there was nothing he could do.

said in a trembling voice: "You...... You're so daring, attack and kill...... Qin Yan, aren't you afraid of death? ”

The villagers were stunned, knowing that the tax envoy had kicked the iron plate.

Looking at the appearance of the two, they didn't panic at all.

Wang Ben on the hill in the distance was shocked when he saw that Lu Caiwei had actually made a move, and immediately moved the flag, and the army behind the hill ran towards the village.